Kelley B. Vlahos, executive editor of the American Conservative Magazine, returns to the show to discuss her latest article, "Neoconning the Trump White House." Vlahos details her research into the neocon creep into the Trump administration and does a deep dive into the state of neoconservative politics and institutions in Washington. Vlahos also explains why, despite Donald Trump's lip service, the anti-war right and the realists are fighting an uphill battle for influence in Washington....
1/23/18 Reese Erlich on the brewing conflict in Northeast Syria
Reese Erlich joins Scott to discuss the latest developments in Iraq and Eastern Syria. Erlich details the growing tension between Turkey, a NATO country, and the United States and the Kurds who are getting caught in between. Erlich and Scott discuss the recent history of U.S. interventionism in Syria, how the Trump policy divulges from Obama's, and the current status of the Islamic State. Reese Erlich is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their...
1/21/18 Gareth Porter on Donald Trump’s Bluff Towards North Korea
Gareth Porter returns to the show to discuss his latest article "Why Trump's North Korea Bloody Nose Campaign Is A Big Bluff." Porter examines the Trump administration's approach to North Korea and explains why he thinks Trump's posturing about carrying out a preventative strike against North Korea is just that—posturing. Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare....
1/12/18 James Carden on the popularity of non-interventionism and the new Cold War
James Carden returns to the show to discuss his latest article "A New Poll Shows the Public Is Overwhelmingly Opposed to Endless US Military Interventions." Carden breaks down the different findings of the poll, including that a vast majority of people think military intervention should be used only as a last resort, that a preponderance of people think that military aid to foreign countries is counterproductive, and that there's particular antipathy directed at support for Saudi Arabia. Scott...
1/12/18 Dan Gifford on the truth and lies of Waco
Documentary film maker Dan Gifford joins Scott to discuss the new television show documenting the Waco massacre, recalls how he became interested in revealing the truth of what happened at Waco, and says if there's one thing people take away from the interview it's this: never talk to the police without a lawyer present. Gifford then explains the role that gun control and religion played in the standoff negotiations and raid and the subsequent destruction and corruption of evidence in the...
1/5/18 JP Sottile on the welfare/warfare state and Trump’s presidency
JP Sottile, editor of NewsVandal.com , returns to the show to discuss his latest article, "The US Military is the biggest Big Government" entitlement program on the planet." Sottile argues that the U.S. military has developed constituencies throughout the country by employing millions of Americans and that Donald Trump's presidential victory was the result of paradoxically promising to grow the military and reducing U.S. intervention around the globe. (Guess which promise he kept.) Sottile...
1/5/18 The UN’s Jamie McGoldrick on the state of affairs in Yemen
Jamie McGoldrick of the United Nations joins Scott to discuss the latest developments in Yemen. McGoldrick gives an overview of the Yemeni political, sociological, and economic situation, explains why the official death count is certainly too low, and outlines what needs to be done to alleviate the suffering of the people of Yemen. McGoldrick is the United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative for the...
1/5/18 Elijah Magnier on U.S. occupation of eastern Syria following fight against ISIS
Middle east correspondent Elijah Magnier returns to the show to discuss the U.S. presence in eastern Syria. Magnier explains what the United States' goals are, why they won't leave without guaranteeing a political transition and how they've, for the time being, partitioned the country along the Euphrates river. Magnier then details how the United States is essentially acting as the undeclared protector of the Islamic State for the time being as they've stopped bombing the Northeastern region...
1/3/18 Peter Van Buren on the end of Iraq War 3—and the history of the Iraq War
Heroic whistleblower Peter Van Buren returns to the Scott Horton Show to discuss his latest piece for the American Conservative, "2017: The Year the Iraq War Truly Ended." Van Buren explains what he means by "the war is over" and why it doesn't mean there won't be continued conflict for locals in Iraq. Van Buren then discusses how he categorizes each of the different phases of the Iraq War, which has been going on for three decades. So what happens in Phase Four, once the shooting stops? Van...
1/3/18 Muhammad Sahimi on the protests in Iran
USC professor Muhammad Sahimi returns to the show to discuss the latest developments in the protests in Iran, describes how the current regime is responsible for the justified grievances of the people protesting, and explains why some people fear regime change given the opportunistic nature of .the Trump administration, the aftermath of post-Gaddafi Libya, and the role of the Iranian far right in fomenting the protests. Sahimi then explains how the Iran Deal has backfired for Rouhani who...
12/29/17 Gareth Porter on how the Bush administration sabotaged potential peace with North Korea
Investigative journalist Gareth Porter returns to the Scott Horton Show to discuss his latest article "How Cheney and his allies created the North Korea nuclear missile crisis." Porter explains how the North Koreans have historically used their nuclear program as a negotiation tool with the United States and how Dick Cheney and his allies in the Bush administrations sabotaged deals that would have reduced tension and also stalled development of North Korea's nuclear program. Porter then goes...
12/29/17 Derek Davison on the latest neocon plans for confronting Iran
Derek Davison returns to the show to discuss his latest article, “Clean Break II: Iran Hawks Decide To Burn It All Down.” Davison details the latest neoconservative nightmare, explains his fear that Donald Trump is being quickly coopted by the neoconservatives, and considers what might happen if the U.S. walks away from the deal. Derek Davison is a freelance writer. His work appears at LobeLog and Jacobin. Learn more about his work at his site And That’s The Way It Was and follow him...
12/29/17 Nasser Arrabyee on the latest Saudi massacre of Yemeni civilians
Nasser Arrabyee returns to the show to discuss the latest war crimes committed by the U.S.-Saudi coalition, which included strikes on civilian areas in four different cities on markets, farms, and government buildings that killed entire families and more than 200 people. Arrabyee then explains why ISIS and Al Qaeda have been the big winners as a result of the U.S.-Saudi war in Yemen and why, on the ground in Yemen, ISIS and Al Qaeda are basically one entity. Nasser Arrabyee is a Yemeni...
12/22/17 Robert Viglione on the latest cryptocurrency Zen Cash and the Seasteading movement
Co-founder of cryptocurrency Zen Cash Robert Viglione joins Scott on the show—and as the latest sponsor of the Scott Horton Show—to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies and his project Zen Cash. Viglione believes that Zen Cash is leading the way in privacy and anti-censorship in cryptocurrency in the name of creating a virtual free society. Viglione outlines the mission of Zen Cash and how it is differentiated not only from fiat money but also from other cryptocurrencies. Scott and Viglione...
12/22/17 Roger Ver on the split between Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Core
CEO of Bitcoin.com Roger Ver—aka “Bitcoin Jesus”—joins the show to discuss the explosion of bitcoin and the split in the bitcoin community between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Cash. Ver details the problems with Bitcoin Core and predicts that a year from now it will no longer be the top global cryptocurrency. He then explains how he became interested in bitcoin in 2011 when he realized it could be a true alternative to fiat currencies and explains the connection between Bitcoin and the anti-war...
